The need to promote the adoption of sustainable energy practices in Sub Saharan Africa will be a key talking point by a host of government heads, cabinet ministers and key energy experts, including, Kola Adesina, Group Managing Director of Sahara Power Group at the Horasis Global Meeting in Cascais, Portugal from Saturday, May 5, 2018.

Adesina who spearheads the operations of Sahara Power Group, one of the largest private power businesses in SSA, will address a community of global delegates as one of eight other panelists to speak on Creating Sustainable Energy Policies.

He will highlight the need for innovation, institutional support, good corporate governance, sustained public-private sector collaboration within the region and the participation of global partners, including developed economies and multilateral institutions.

“Innovation is a long and painstaking process. Not only does it require great intellectual capital it needs due diligence and a strong institutional support system to flourish. Institutional support means that government policy and private sector corporate governance work in concert by creating and facilitating the right policies needed to proliferate sustainable energy across multiple sectors and borders,” said Adesina to journalists ahead of the conference.

He added: “Any ambitions we have for lighting up sub-Saharan Africa either via exploring alternative sources of energy or addressing the current infrastructural deficits that blight us can only succeed if there is a solid underpinning of policy creation and execution.”

According to the International Energy Agency, in 2016 global investments in energy including networks, renewables and thermals exceeded investments in traditional oil & gas development for the first time. There is an undeniable paradigm shift from the dying, dirty business of fossil fuels towards a more sustainable, climate complaint source of energy.

Adesina explained that, “Sub-Saharan Africa needs to begin to develop a road map for the creation of institutional equivalents to agencies like ‘Energy Innovation Investment Portfolio’, ‘Innovative Renewables Fund’ or ‘Energy Entrepreneur’s Fund’ to ensure sustainable, efficient and reliable access to energy in the sub-region.”

On the need for innovation and technology, he added: “Successful adoption of technology and innovation requires a working eco-system of informed and committed stakeholders across the public and private sectors. I am looking forward to joining the conversation with other speakers on the Horasis Global platform.”

The Horasis Global Meeting is an annually held summit which brings business leaders together with the people and institutions that shape the landscape in which they operate. It provides a unique platform for companies looking to globalize their interests. It has been described by the New York Times as “a World Economic Forum for emerging markets.”

The event is co-hosted by the Portuguese government and the City of Cascais.